June 28, 2004 State Road 44 Designated "Clyde Hart Highway" By Jane Smith Samsula, Fla. (June 25, 2004) A ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, July 1, at New Smyrna Speedway designating State Road 44 from the City of DeLand to State Road 415 in Volusia County as "Clyde Hart Highway." The late Clyde Hart was the founder and operator of the New Smyrna Speedway, located at the intersection of SR 44 and SR 415. The honorary designation was approved by the 2004 Florida Legislature, and signed into law by Governor Bush in May. Florida Senator Bill Posey was the prime sponsor of the designation, and will be in attendance at a ceremony unveiling the designation signing. The ceremony will be along westbound SR 44 just west of the SR 415 intersection, in front of the New Smyrna Speedway. State Road 44 is currently being widened to four lanes from SR 415 to Interstate 4. Work began in November, 2002 on the widening of four miles from SR 415 to Pioneer Trail. The project is scheduled for completion next spring. Work began last month (May 24) on the widening of 7.3 miles from Pioneer Trail to one mile west of Interstate 4. That project is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2006. Widening from I-95 to Pioneer Trail (5.1 miles) was completed in December, 2000. Clyde Hart purchased the land for the New Smyrna Speedway in 1966. It originally featured a dirt track, which Hart had paved in the early 70's. He subsequently purchased Orlando SpeedWorld and Orlando Dragway in Bithlo, forming the Florida Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (FASCAR). The World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing is held over nine nights each February at New Smyrna Speedway. Clyde Hart passed away in 1999. See Related Article:The Roots of Florida Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (FASCAR) Have an opinion on this story? Post a message on our Message Board! <news@karnac.org>or send a letter to the editor!